Wild Side, The
Wild Side, The (2011) — Anthology Genre and Sub-Genres Urban Fantasy—with an Erotica edge Theme Urban Fantasy and an erotic edge Description When the werewolf cubs are asleep and the baby vamps are tucked into their coffins, the adults come out to play! Feeling a bit undead and dying to shuffle off your toil and troubles and get it on? You've come to the right place! Spend some quality time lolling in the moonlight shadows with a love that only comes out at night. ~ The Wild Side | Book Depository The sub-title to this collection of stories by ten talented authors is "Urban Fantasy with an Erotic Edge" and the fantastic cover art by renowned artist Dan Dos Santos certainly conveys that message. In his introduction Van Name tells us that the name for this anthology comes from Lou Reed's song Take a Walk on the Wild Side. Urban Fantasy is a very popular genre these days and includes urban and modern landscapes of varying sizes and "urban-ness." When Van Name invited his fellow authors to write these stories, he asked only that they combine Urban Fantasy and an erotic edge. How these elements were combined, he left up to each author. Each story is also followed by an afterward about the story and what inspired it. ~ Goodreads | The Wild Side Editor and Authors Editor: Mark L. Van Name (SciFi) Contributors: Mark L. Van Name (SciFi), Diana Rowland (UF), Tanya Huff (UF), Caitlin Kittredge (UF), Gina Massel-Castater (one UF short), Toni L.P. Kelner (Myst, UF), Sarah A. Hoyt (Fant, UF, SciFi, Hist-fant, Myst, Hist-myst, Bio), Ticia Drake Isom (one UF short), Dana Cameron (Myst, UF), John Lambshead (SciFi, Fant) Supernatural Elements Vampire, werewolves, faeries, witches, incubus, demon, angel, Siren, zombies, ghosts, Death, fallen angel reincarnation, gangster demons, interspecies marriage, magical artifact, magical retreat, Dr. Frankenstein type, List of Stories To expand the table, right-press on a row of the table or (Control-press on a Mac)—choose add row. Synopsis by Story "Songs Sung Red" by Tanya Huff (25 pages) — Victoria Nelson series : The story is about a Siren that manipulates Vicki and her lover Celluci as they investigate a murder in a club. Vicki has been changed (into a vampire) and is living with Mike. There is a romantic tone that shows just how deeply these two care about each other. ✥ Now a vampire, Vicki is subject to darkly erotic urges and the song of a siren makes them even harder to resist. As always, there is a case to be solved and between the secrets, she and Mike do just that. ✥ — Sexual Content: a few non graphic sex scenes. :NOTE: In her afterward, Tanya revealed that this story was initially going to be an episode in the TV series before it was cancelled. "Careless of the Night" by Gina Massel-Castater (26 pages) : Liz needs to feed her photographic habit and working for Armando gives her access to his studio equipment. A perfect habit, viewing people from behind a camera. She's invisible at her age and people never even notice her presence. One night, Liz is feeling more sociable and inadvertently begins the seduction of her boss. ✥ The protagonist is a 50 year old cougar—an older woman not an actual cougar—who prowls bars looking for younger men before catching the eye of her younger boss. ✥ The supernatural element is revealed at the end. ✥ An unusual talent for invisibility allows the silver-haired mature woman to surprise her shapeshifting employer and convince him that they can become lovers and partners. — Sexual Content: a few sex scenes "For a Good Time, Call…" by Toni L.P. Kelner (28 pages) : All the "gifted" witches in the Salem area are off on their retreat leaving the "pathetic" Maura Allaway behind to mind the store. Problems ensue when Maura responds to directions left by the man she assumes is one of their providers. Ooops...Herberto Rocha is definitely not whom she's expecting to see. ✥ Story revolves around a charming but unexceptional witch in a family of powerful but patronizing witches who is left behind to mind the shop while her family heads off for a magical retreat. When a stranger asks for help solving the murder of his niece, Maura reluctantly agrees to try even though her talents are limited to frying telephones. Turns out her talents are ideally suited to this particular case which involves an incubus and an unlimited calling plan. ✥ Maura Allaway isn’t a very good witch. She’s not the evil sort, she just hasn’t discovered her particular affinity, which makes her fairly useless in the opinion of the other more talented witches in her family. As if that were not enough to contend with, she also tends to destroy telephones, mobile phones and computers. In this story, Maura discovers that what she thinks is a curse might actually be a talent and uses her odd affinity to good effect in defeating a succubus who is making disturbingly erotic prank calls. ✥ — Sexual Content: References to masturbation. Phone sex. A brief sex scene "Fine Print" by Diana Rowland (10 pages) : This is about a magazine editor who finds out his girlfriend is a demon and gives a whole new meaning to the clichéd ‘casting couch’. ✥ Jason never let sex interfere with business learns. Can he get out of his particular contract if he reminds Rachel that she was never going to pressure him to put one of her stories in his magazine Black Magick Stories. ✥ — Sexual Content: Brief oral sex scene "Unawares" by Sarah A. Hoyt (18 pages) : Taken from the expression ‘Some have entertained angels unawares’ this story follows Serena Reis, the survivor of a vampire attack who must rely on her quick thinking and a mysterious rescuer named Uriel Heaven to keep a pack of vampires from slaughtering her neighbors. When Uriel begins to loose his grasp on the human realm, he needs to indulge in something carnal to keep from ascending (hint: the subtitle of this anthology is urban fantasy with an erotic edge). Hoyt’s spin on angel mythology was excellent and practically begs for a more in depth story or series—in her afterward it says that there is a full length novel featuring Uriel in the works. ✥ — Sexual Content: a sex scene "Of Sex and Zombies" by Ticia Drake Isom (28 pages) : The wedding between Sylvie, a faerie, and Michael, a human, is over-run with zombies. The cops, one of which is a werewolf – because they make wonderful law enforcement officers, didn’t you know, arrive on the scene, but not quickly enough to prevent Michael from receiving a fatal zombie bite. The rest of the story is a rush to beat the clock, with the odd collection of humans and supernatural beings seeking a way to save Michael from a fate worse than death: becoming a zombie. ✥ Tale begins with an interspecies marriage between a human and a faerie that is interrupted by a zombie attack. When the groom is bitten, the bride enlists the help of the werewolf bestman, the faerie that loves her, and a Dr. Frankenstein type to find a cure before it’s too late. ✥ It's a wedding! Sylvie and Michael are getting married. There's just one little hitch. She's a faerie and he's human. And the faeries are grumbling. Loudly. It seems the zombies aren't too happy either when they crash the wedding and wreak havoc with Sylvie and Michael's future. ✥ — Sexual Content:a graphic sex scene. "Love Knot" by Dana Cameron (28 pages), — Fangborn series : At the museum where Justine works, a stranger brought in an artifact to learn more about it little realizing the guy couldn't wait to get this lust projector off his hands! Her short experience with it sends her running for Claudia. A vampire with a cool reputation who struggles with the artifact even as it proves Justine's decision. ✥ This was the second Fangborn short story (the first was The Night Things Changed from Wolfsbane and Mistletoe) about a secret family of vampires and werewolves. Vampire Claudia unwillingly takes custody of a magical artifact that elicits an extreme sexual response from anyone in its proximity. She found herself in a dilemma was forced to go about her normal day and control her sudden sexual awareness. ✥ — Sexual Content: References to homosexuality. Masturbation. A non graphic orgy. "Beauty is a Witch" by John Lambshead (28 pages) : A witch spends a night running through the streets of London pursued by a wily demon. There are ghosts and other supernatural creatures that she runs into along the way, some who she learns later betrayed her to the demon. ✥ — Sexual Content: a couple sex scenes one of which might be a rape. "The Long Dark Night of Diego Chan" by Mark L. Van Name (34 pages) : A kind of thriller with a melancholy side. The tale describes, in a tense and gripping narrative style, how a dying man's plans to survive by letting himself be turned into a vampire are impeded by an old friend. ✥ We don't know what Diego Chan is, but we do know that he's loyal to his friends when he drops everything in response to a message from Barbara when she texts him for help. Her husband is missing and she has her suspicions about their supposed friend Matt. Very tricksy. ✥ It marks the introduction of Diego Chan, a more than human James Bond type tracking down a terminally ill friend who may or may not be in the process of unwillingly becoming a vampire. The trail leads Diego to a sex club run by an old friend turned enemy. There is lots of intrigue here and hints at a massive operative network with resources and eyes everywhere. Only a few details are revealed about his past—he’ll be getting his own series. ✥ — Sexual Content: A majority of the story takes place in a sex club and various sexual activities are mentioned in passing. "Born Under a Bad Sign" by Caitlin Kittredge (28 pages) : Noir story where a fallen angel reincarnated in a whore ends up fighting a band of gangster demons. This may sound a bit complicated and totally implausible but, believe me, the tale is a superb example of masterful and insightful storytelling. ✥ ‘Born Under A Bad Sign’ is about Sam, a fallen angel who has vague memories and an even more vague purpose. Sam discovers she can’t quite deny all she was, however, and that despite having fallen, she still has the urge to save people. ✥ Takes a twist on the fallen angel with a hint of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood when a whorehouse in 1952 Kansas is invaded by a quartet of killers---demons using human bodies. Maybe she shouldn't have ignored Death's warning, but this collision is helping her remember and she's damned if she'll let them win. ✥ It follows a fallen angel turned prostitute living in a whorehouse in Kansas in 1952 when a demon led gang of outlaws breaks in. The events that follow are savage and graphic. ✥ — Sexual Content: Various sex scenes. References to homosexuality. Prostitution. Rape and battery. 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